The invention relates to a method for the production of fitted sheets or similar protective covers for the mattresses of beds or the like, in which rectangular pieces of fabric are cut from a strip of cloth and then elastic bands are sewn onto or into the facing cut edges (transverse edges) of the pieces of fabric, wherein the length of the elastic band corresponds approximately to the width of the piece of fabric, and the corner seams are then formed on the fitted sheets and excess corners of fabric are then separated off. The invention also relates to a sewing assembly for execution of the above method.
A method for the production of fitted sheets or similar protective covers as well as a device for execution of such a method are already known from U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,682,555 and 4,748,922. This known device however represents only a semiautomatic sewing assembly for fitted sheets, in which the elastic bands are simply sewn into the individual pieces of fabric. The formation of the corner stitches forming seams on the fitted sheets as well as the separation of excess corner pieces of fabric in this case is still executed manually, and at an additional work station. Furthermore, it is known that the width of the strip of fabric from which rectangular pieces of fabric are separated off for the production of the fitted sheets is subjected according to production conditions to slight variations of dimensions and boundary lines. In the above known method for the production of fitted sheets, the different widths of incoming material strips have been calculated so that the suitable correction of the adaptation of dimensions has been undertaken with the sewing down of the corners of the fitted sheets or with the manual production of corner seams, wherein the operator has placed the diagonal folds of each corner of a piece of fabric flush with the corners of two adjacent edges of pieces of fabric.